Federation history
Federation history has been recorded ever since the organization was founded in 2161. Prehistory Events from Enterprise: Babel One, United, The Aenar and the Vulcan Reformation. Founding The United Federation of Planets was founded in 2161 (TNG: "The Outcast"), in San Francisco on Earth (ENT: "Zero Hour"), shortly after the end of the Earth-Romulan War. The primary founding members of the new alliance were Earth, Vulcan, Andor and Tellar. At the same time, a new defensive and exploratory agency called Starfleet was founded, composed of the militaries of each of the member worlds, but primarily the Earth Starfleet. :It remains unclear whether the Human colony in the Alpha Centauri system was also among the founding members. An obscure reference from Captain Picard's photo album from ''Star Trek: Generations suggests so, however it was not seen clearly on-screen and other things shown in that album appear apocryphal (like Picard's award from Starfleet for the Battle of Maxia — a term which was unknown to Picard prior to TNG: "The Battle").'' Klingon Hostilities Although the Federation's intentions were peaceful, its policies of expansion almost inevitably brought it into conflict with other races in the region. In the 23rd century, the most notable conflict was with the Klingon Empire. Although tensions had existed between the Klingons and the Federation since the latter's founding, a full-blown cold war developed in the 2220s (TOS: "Day of the Dove"). Numerous hot spots and skirmishes were fought along the two rival powers' mutual border until 2267, when the Federation-Klingon War broke out. The conflict was ended just four days later by the Treaty of Organia, which was enforced by a race of powerful noncorporeal beings called the Organians. (TOS: "Errand of Mercy") The Federation entered into a new era of peace and expansion following the end of hostilities with the Klingons at the Khitomer Conference of 2293. As the 24th century opened, the Federation began an unprecedented period of peaceful exploration of the galaxy, without any major conflicts along its borders. Renaissance Period However, starting in the late 2340s, the Federation began to encounter renewed resistance to its expansion. It came into conflict with the Cardassian Union, the Talarians, the Sheliak, the Tholians, and other minor regional powers like the Tzenkethi. However, with the powerful Starfleet at its height of influence, the conflicts could be ended by implementing numerous treaties with the affected powers like the Treaty of Armens with the Sheliak or the Federation-Cardassian Treaty of 2370. (TNG: "The Ensigns of Command") The Borg Threat The Federation was dealt a serious blow, however, when it made First Contact with the Borg in 2365. The Borg were an advanced race of hybrid cybernetic and biological beings possessed of a level of technology far beyond that of any known to Federation science. At the Battle of Wolf 359, the Federation's confidence came crashing down when a single Borg Cube effortlessly sliced through an armada of 40 starships. Although the Borg invasion was ultimately defeated, the effect on Federation morale was incalculable. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II") Another skirmish with the Borg took place in 2373, when a second sole Borg cube attacked Earth. After Deep Space 5 reported the destruction of the Federation colony on Ivor Prime by the Borg, the first battle took place in the Typhon sector. Since, the Federation fleet under the command of Admiral Hayes was not able to stop the Borg, the final battle was fought in Sector 001, in Earth's orbit, where the cube could eventually be destroyed. ("Star Trek: First Contact") The Dominion War In the 2370s, the Federation came into contact with the Dominion, via the recently-discovered Bajoran wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. The Dominion began a massive offensive to bring its brand of "order" into the Alpha Quadrant, and targeted the Federation as one of the powers most likely to resist. The Federation was eventually forced to declare war, facing the greatest crisis in its history. Although the Federation and its allies eventually triumphed in the Dominion War, many of its important member worlds, including Betazed, Coridan, and Benzar, had been temporary occupied before the Dominion's offensive could be turned back and victory achieved. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) The Future As of 2379, another era of peace and prosperity appears to be dawning for the Federation. With the beginnings of détente with its traditional enemy, the Romulan Star Empire (Star Trek: Nemesis), and the successful conclusion of the Dominion War, the Federation has the opportunity to resume its place as the most powerful organization of the known galaxy. By the 26th Century races such as the Klingons, Ithenites, and Xindi had joined the Federation. In the 2550s, the Federation proved instrumental in halting the Sphere Builder invasion of the Milky Way Galaxy, an action which caused the Sphere Builders to try to stop the Federation from ever being formed. (ENT: "Azati Prime") :However, since the [[Enterprise (NX-01)|''Enterprise]] was successful in destroying the sphere network, it is possible that the events of the 2550s involving the Sphere Builders never occurred.'' See also *Human History *Interstellar History